Chart Rewind: In 2001, Jamie ONeal Called on Angels for a No. 1

It wasn't exactly Christmas, but “Angels†were heard on high during the summer of 2001.

Australian-born Jamie O'Neal ascended to No. 1 for the second time on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart dated that Aug. 4 with “When I Think About Angels.â€

Co-written with Roxie Dean (Lee Ann Womack's fellow 2001 hit “Why They Call It Fallingâ€) and Sonny Tillis (Trace Adkins, Billy Currington, Lee Greenwood, Reba McEntire, Ricky Skaggs), the bright midtempo song embraced a romantic obsession with a chorus built around a thought chain: the singer's mind progresses from thoughts of rain through several links to thoughts about angels and, ultimately, thoughts “about you.â€

Produced by Keith Stegall (Alan Jackson, Zac Brown Band), “Angels†featured O'Neal's husband, Rodney Good, as a backing vocalist. Its August reign came the same month as the one-year anniversary of their marriage, and the anniversary of her chart debut with “There Is No Arizona,†which became her first No. 1 single.

Both “Arizona†and “Angels†were nominated in 2002 for best country song at the Grammy Awards, making O'Neal the first female to double up in that category since Donna Fargo in 1973.

As “Angels†hovered over the genre, O'Neal accompanied McEntire, Martina McBride, Sara Evans and Carolyn Dawn Johnson on the 25-date Girls Night Out Tour, the first country arena package to feature five women.

O'Neal revisited “When I Think About Angels†in a 2020 recording with McBride, and she reimagined “Arizona†in a 2025 collaboration with The Isaacs. She also issued a new album, Gypsum, on Jan. 23, 2026.